Empty Promises and Desolate Futures
by Willibaldvonsomething
Summary: She survived, rescued by a dead man and told to walk. All that accompanies her is a short explanation of 'why' and 'what next' as an Emperor and an Empress set out towards the night.


Harribel couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this bad. Actually, scratch that. She could. It involved an ego-centric skeleton, a giant axe and one of the worst battles of her life. But right now? Now she had to deal with the stress of fighting some child with the ability to turn her into a Espadasicle, as well as what was supposed to be a fatal wound to her chest dealt to her by Lord Aize-...

No. Not Lord Aizen. Not anymore. He betrayed them. Tossed them aside. If Barragan, the grumpy prick, was still alive, he'd probably get a quiet chuckle at how empty a Hollow could feel from false promises. Only to follow it up with a laugh at how he was right, and everyone else was an idiot. He'd probably even be so cliche as to say 'I told you so'.

But no. She could feel herself fading, and she might actually have to suffer through the mocking from the former Hollow-King. In the next life that is.

At least that's what she was hoping for, but fate had other plans as she opened her eyes to look at the familiar night sky of Hueco Mundo.

"About time. To think my effort's almost went to waste." A familiar gruff voice said from out of sight.

And she thought her day couldn't get any worst. "You are supposed to be dead." Harribel managed to say as she struggled to sit up. Barragan made no move to help her.

"You think me so pathetic that I lack control of my own power?" Barragan asked with a snort. Harribel took her time to look around. They were in Hueco Mundo, a place she'd never seen before but the infinite white sands and rocky outcroppings couldn't be anywhere else. Barragan, or at least she assumed it was Barragan since he was the only one around.

"It wouldn't surprise me." She said, watching as he bristled at the insult. An impressive reaction for a skeleton. Not that she could comment, since she was still in her released form as well.

"It seems you are healed enough to back talk your betters. Good, get up. I wish to be at Los Noches by tomorrow."

Harribel raised an eyebrow, not sure what to ask about first. Which version of 'why' to start with. So she went with the easy one. "Why are we returning to Ai-?"

Barragan cut her off with a burst of spirit pressure. "Los Noches is mine. It always was. I'm going to tear down that monstrosity he erected in it's place and laugh as I do it."

"So he really is dead." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. Aizen was rather proud that he'd managed to 'civilize' Hueco Mundo with an actual building, and had put strict rules to ensure that some of the more destructive members of his army wouldn't blow it up for a laugh. The idea that Barragan was going to take the place apart, brick by brick meant that he was no longer chained by the shinigami, that he was free to do as she wish.

Harribel wished her released form could hide her expression. Barragan was an asshole, she had no illusions on that. They both had the scars to prove it. But he was mostly harmless when left alone. She'd heard his 'final offer' to join him or die more times than either of them cared to mention. They'd known each other for decades after all.

"Yes, the worm is dead. Now up. Neither of us are in the best shape. And I am not in the mood to deal with a group of idiotic Adjuchas thinking we are an easy meal." Barragan said as he offered his skeletal hand down to the sitting shark.

"Is that concern for your own life I'm hearing?" Harribel said as she took the offered appendage to pull herself up.

"You can lose the comedy act. It doesn't suit you."

Harribel only shrugged at the expected sour response. "Do you even know where we are?"

Again, Barragan's greatest skill was not his power, or aging abilities, but his ability to relay exactly what he was thinking without a face. Years of dealing with him was all she needed to not laugh at the look of exasperation on his face.

"If you are going to keep asking stupid questions, regardless of your state of health. I will happily throw you back to the damn shinigami." Barragan huffed out before taking off in what to her mind was a random direction. He kept his pace slow once she'd got up, still hurting from the cut across her chest.

The pair walked in silence for what felt like hours. Time in Hueco Mundo was a curious thing. Without the aid of the setting sun, one day could rapidly fade into two, then three until a year had passed. Then a decade, then finally you look back and realize it'd been a century.

* * *

"Your fraccions survived." The simple statement hit her hard. She wasn't sure Barragan would even know, much less care that her friends were alive.

Barragan sat down across from the former third Espada. They'd stopped at her request. He'd done the best he could, but his specialty lay in aging things, reversing time on anything other than himself was draining and usually worth more effort than he cared to put forward.

Harribel's wound still needed time to heal after all, and he would never admit it but the drain from the actual healing left him exhausted as well. The only thing that kept Barragan walking was a lifetime of needing to prove he was better than everyone else.

"Do you know where they are?" Was Harribel's simple response, to which Barragan shrugged.

"They were looking for you. I don't know what they'd have done with you since neither of them have the ability to heal. I expect that eventually they will give up and return to Hueco Mundo. If anything they'll be in Los Noches."

"And why did you save me?" The question was out before she could stop herself, but to her surprise Barragan just laughed.

"To spit on Aizen's grave. You were the only one of us that he saw fit to kill himself, so what better than to deny him the satisfaction." He said the word as if he wasn't included, but she understood.

Starkk and Lilynette joined willingly. Yammy joined willingly. Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Luppi, Grimmjow, Zommari, Szayel and Aaroniero. Nell had joined willingly. Even she had willingly taken up Aizen's cause. All of their efforts had been betrayed. They all agreed, they wanted to work for Aizen for their own reasons.

But never Barragan, she thought. Barragan wanted nothing to do with Aizen from the start. She'd seen the hated looks that were sent to the Shinigami's back. How he always referred to Aizen as 'the boss' with as much venom and sarcasm as one could fit into a short phrase.

Aizen was the only person Barragan ever hated in her mind. He viewed everyone else with either indifference or in her case vague annoyance.

"I see. Thank you." Harribel bowed her head as Barragan gave another amused snort.

"Spare me the false sentiments. I do not need or want them."

More silence passed as they both recovered their strength.

"I did mean it you know." Harribel said quietly.

"It doesn't matter. Once I have destroyed the last monument to that insect's desecration of my kingdom, we will settle back into the old routine."

"It doesn't have to. We could just settle. There is no point in needless sacrifices. We are both tired." Harribel ignored the annoyance that crossed Barragan's face as she continued. "Could let old fights die?" She offered.

Barragan sighed and stood up, dusting off his purple cloak. "I shall think of it. Now come. We are making good time and I intend to keep it that way."

In his haste to get going, he missed the small smirk on Harribel's face. She'd finally saw an end to the pointless fighting, and she had who knows how miles convince Barragan's mind. Her day was finally starting to look up.

"By the way Harribel, I told you so."

Or not.

**AN:** Not really much to say aside from the fact I will go down with this ship and defend it to my last breath, so yay? Anyways, hope you at least found it interesting. If not, I'll try again later~ Have a good day and don't be scared to leave a review, comment or anything.


End file.
